"Medical Coding" Specialist

[Jandrews]

My wife if considering a new / 2nd career as our kids are in and/or near high school. She is looking to do a 1.5 year community college program that is specifically designed and targeted for the medical coding profession. She has an undergrad degree in geography, but has been stay at home mom for the last 15 years.

It sounds to me like a really good cross-over between the medical field and IT / big data, which should see continued demand. Real world experience with hospitals and doctors offices and insurance requirements make it pretty clear where this is all heading. Anyone know about the profession, and the related work environment and opportunities?

Thanks,

JA

[Bill Douglas]

JA, my GF does this for a job, I'll ask her to give some details when she gets home later.

[Noah930]

I see huge potential for this field of work. This is the business of medicine, which is becoming increasingly important. Whether a healthcare provider stays in business or not is not so much dependent on the delivery of quality healthcare, but rather on the billing that keeps the underlying business going. Being a medical coder is just learning to "play the game" (from a medical business perspective). Your wife could work for a hospital, a medical office/clinic, an insurance company, the government, a medical device company, etc. She could work part-time or full-time. While most jobs out there require work in an office, there are opportunities to work from home/remotely, as well.

You need to know some medical jargon, but it's a job about knowing the rules (of medical billing) to maximize your employer's/client's return.

[id10t]

It is a critical part of the business side of health care.

[Jandrews]

Great responses, one and all! Thank you. Just this initial positive endorsement from some of you who have key knowledge/experience in the medical field is really encouraging. Thank you, and keep any additional feedback coming, please.

JA

[MBAtarga]

I've got 3 sisters that have career employment in the field - 2 are office mgr types. I've heard the office mgrs talk about how difficult it is to find "good" employees.

[Tobra]

Medical coding is a growth industry. A good coder is like gold, literally.

[Jandrews]

Feedback from more qualified, experienced Pelicans. Really appreciate it.

Quick extension question...while it would be impossible for any of you to have any detail on the specific community college program that she is looking into, what can you say about the importance of that specific training? Is this a job she could maybe start and then get the education, certification and credentials in parallel? Or does she really need the full 1.5 year dedicated program before she can get started? She does not have a medical background, but she is super smart, has an incredible work ethic and has great computer/system skills.

Any thoughts on the best step-wise approach to getting started?

Thanks again. She is very encouraged by your comments, particularly considering the source.

JA

[rattlsnak]

Have a good friend who did that for a huge hospital chain here in ATL. There are many levels of coders.. Coder I, Coder II, ETC., and its based upon how much experience you have and how many certs you have, which you cant get until you have experience and take the yearly tests to gain higher certs to get paid more. Also totally depends on if you work for a hospital or private office that only does, say, gastro procedures, etc.. She has been doing it for @ 4 years and makes @$36K a year.. It may be in demand, but it's low on the totem pole.. That being said, she just moved to Florida and got a job in less than a week.

[Bill Douglas]

GF is back. She had worked as a registered nurse but wanted a change. So now she gets paid the same and doesn't have the patient contact.

She said her's is recording medical stats. In the US there may be coding for billing purposes.

Comments she has made: Endlessly interesting and complex. Anatomy physiology disease hospital procedures. Will Always be learning as medical field is always evolving. The job can never be fully automated or done by a computer - so fairly future proofed.

She has done multiple exams to reach a certain level. She says there are plenty more to do too.

[aap1966]

Agree. Growth industry. She'll do well.

[Tobra]

If she goes to work for a doctor's office she will probably have a better experience and get paid better too. Fish in a big pond vs a little pond, if you will.

[id10t]

We have a coding program here at the college I work for in Florida. PM me if you want the name and contact info of the coordinator for the program - I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to you or your wife even if you won't move to Florida and take courses...

[seanratpel]

JA - right up my alley. I'm a surgical coder at the VA in providence. First you'll (she'll) have to decide if she wants to code Inpatient cases (generally - procedural coding) or Outpatient cases which deal with diagnostic coding. The best cred's right now are CCS (cert. coding specialist) for Inpatient - through AHIMA and the CPC (cert. professional coder - for Outpatient) through the AAPC.
I know there is a 9 month certificate program, and you can take the test immediately after. Don't think u have to go for a year and a half??
** Working remotely can be great for some - your getting national rates 25/35 hr. but can live anywhere. You'll need at least 3 yrs experience before anyone will even look at you. Once your in this field there's mucho specialties you can get into.

Now for the bad, getting a coding job right after school/certification is virtually impossible. You would have to start out in say, a billing office first. You can possibly get someone to give you a shot right from the start but I wouldn't count on it. The thing is, most big employers want a lot of experience involved because they want the highest return on their submitted codes and don't want to deal with denials or having to train or re-train people.
Don't want to depress you, its just not as easy as some people make it out to be.

only need 2 things - certification & -self determination good luck , let me know if you have any specific ?'s SEAN

[speedster911]

JA,

There is a need for medical coders- however don't expect to go through a CC program and think you can land a job in a hospital unless the hospital has an internal coder development program and those are rare. They want experienced coders as it's all about production and accuracy.

With the transition to ICD10, many hospitals and coding companies overstaffed thinking that the transition was going to create a backlog. It did for a few months but has leveled out and many facilities/ companies are now overstaffed. Don't want my response to come off as negative but this is the reality. The coding profession is a good one but like medical transcription was 15 -20 years ago - it is transitioning to offshore and CAC - Computer Assisted Coding.

If you are really going to do this- PM me. I can connect you with a few folks to speak with.

[Jandrews]

Some really great tangible and real-life feedback! Thank you so much. And also appreciate the "reality" side of the story as well, as we will want to be eyes wide open on the opportunities, challenges and risks.

The advice to try to find an opportunity in billing for a medical office sounds like the right plan. From there, she can get experience, build relationships, get the lay of the land, all while advancing her knowledge and credentials through the various program opportunities.

She is a go-getter, and very smart, so I have a lot of confidence in her ability to compete and excel, given the right training and certification.

I will talk to her tonight, and likely circle back here with more questions. And thank you so much to those who offered additional insights via personal contact. Will speak to her about that as well!!

Thank you all!!

JA

[seanratpel]

Bring it on

[Tobra]

If she wants to work in a hospital, she can try and get her foot in the door with an unrelated job, prior to getting any coding certifications. They are more likely to promote from within.

[fireant911]

Originally Posted by speedster911

... The coding profession is a good one but like medical transcription was 15 -20 years ago - it is transitioning to offshore and CAC - Computer Assisted Coding...

speedster911,
The reference to CAC is very interesting. I asked my wife (who is a physician) what she knew about Computer Assisted Coding and she stated that she had never heard of this... but she was intrigued. Thanks for including that tidbit of information!

Jandrews,
Coding is somewhat subjective and coders generally err on the safe side as too much liberty with coding can get the doctor and clinic in serious (financial) trouble. With the switchover from ICD-9 to ICD-10 introduced a LOT of additional complexity to the equation. A good coder who understands the system AND uses it properly is a tremendous asset; conversely, a weak coder can cost the practice a tremendous amount of capital. In my opinion, the need for strong coders will only increase.

There is a magazine that I regularly read that addresses many of the overlooked/hidden coding opportunities is named Medical Economics. Although I am not involved with coding, I often hear my wife talk about the overall issues with coding. A highly motivated, focused, and ethical coder would be a huge asset to a doctor's office. I do not think that lack of experience would cause my wife not to hire your wife for this position.

What sort of office would your wife most likely pursue - family medicine, a specialist, hospital,... etc?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tobra

If she wants to work in a hospital, she can try and get her foot in the door with an unrelated job, prior to getting any coding certifications. They are more likely to promote from within.

They also may take her on as an coding intern while she takes classes.

About twenty years ago I took the classes at the CC and got my certificate. Unfortunately back then the field hadn't opened up and jobs were hard to find.

Most of the people in class were already nurses sent there by their boss (Dr.) and had a job waiting for then in office when they finished.